Lye on wood?

[Derek Divis]

Will a lye bath eat away at wood?  Have a three piece set of pots with wood handles that I need to clean up.

[Cheryl Watson]

I do not recommend submerging wooden handles in lye.
It will remove paint.  It will cause the wood to swell.

I always remove handles prior to cleaning.

Depends on the piece whether they are removable.

Pictures are really helpful and sometimes necessary. :)

[Ken Davis]

And even if the lye does not eat away at the wood, the wood will likely absorb some lye and the lye may be very difficult to remove.

[Tom Neitzel]

A lye bath is what furniture refinishers used in the past to remove old finishes.  It does cause the wood to swell, but otherwise doesn't damage the wood.  As Cheryl said, take them off, don't put them in lye.  You can always spot a handle that has gone in the lye though, it will be an odd, light color.

Tom